Getting there: From Manila, an eight-hour bus ride is the standard way to reach Baguio (flights are rare, save for the odd charter). Buses leave from Manila's Caloocan, Cubao and Pasay residential areas.

Just like the Hamptons. But with fishermen on bamboo rafts.Tagaytay is to Manila what the Hamptons are to New York City.

Just more than an hour from Manila, this city hosts second homes of the capital's well-off, who are drawn to the lower temps and authoritative views of Taal Volcano, the smallest active volcano in the world.

Imelda Marcos once invited Ronald and Nancy Reagan here to check out her "palace in the sky," a mansion roosting 2,300 feet above sea level. Today, moneyed locals live out only slightly less Imeldific retirements in the cityâ€™s Swiss-style log homes.

Getting there: Tagaytay-bound buses travel along Manila's Taft Avenue near the MRT station or from the corner of Gil Puyat Avenue. If driving, follow the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) toward Tagaytay via the Santa Rosa or Carmona exits. Or get on Mabini Superhighway after SLEX, exit to Tanauan, and follow the Talisay-Tagaytay route.

At 2,600 feet above sea level at the foot of Canlaon Volcano, the city experiences a cool microclimate warmed up by hot springs that dot the terrain.

Numerous waterfalls, including some that have carved natural slides down the mountains, are a great way to experience the cityâ€™s refreshing feel.

It's colder on the Saddle in the Sky, the ridge dividing the volcanoâ€™s two craters.

Midsummer nights are dreamlike at the gargantuan balete tree, located in the cityâ€™s Japanese-run agricultural estates. The famous tree, believed to be more than 1,300 years old, draws innumerable fireflies nightly.

Getting there: Scenic land routes lead to Canlaon City from Bacolod, Dumaguete and San Carlos.

Davao City's Philippine Eagle Center gets you close to the country's national bird.

Encompassing 244,000 hectares, Davao City on the island of Mindanao takes in towering mountains and dramatic green landscapes, as opposed to the heaven-scraping high-rises and concrete jungles that dominate other large Philippine cities.

The durian capital of the Philippines, it's one of three cities that share Mount Apo, the highest peak in the country.

You can walk a tough trail all the way to the top of Apo (9,692 feet/2,954 meters), but the hot and the restless can make faster, less grueling ascents in districts like Toril, Marilog and Calinan, whose mountain resorts offer untainted air, pine-canopied trails and invigorating falls.

Getting there: There are direct flights to Davao City from Manila, as well as from regional points like Singapore.

Splayed on a high plateau, Bukidnon province is full of cool locales, such as the provincial capital Malaybalay (another "Little Baguio") and Dahilayan, a foggy barangay turned famous zipline resort.

The coldest of the cold is Lantapan, a breakaway district of Malaybalay on the slopes of the Kitanglad mountain range.

Lantapan is so cold that dew sometimes lingers as late as noon.

Spared by typhoons and seated on fertile earth at 4,000 feet above sea level, the cool climate has made Lantapan one of the Philippinesâ€™ prolific vegetable baskets.

Mountaineers know Lantapan as the gateway to Dulang-Dulang, the countryâ€™s second-highest point after Mount Apo.

Getting there: Buses ply the scenic highway between Cagayan de Oro and Malaybalay every day. Jeepneys bound for Lantapan are stationed at the Malaybalay public market. Manila-Cagayan de Oro flights run daily.

In a predominantly Catholic, tropical country, Marawi is an oddity, as much for its largely Muslim populace as its climate. Mosques and torogans (royal houses) dot the city.

On the island of Mindanao, the cityâ€™s 2,600-foot-high elevation ensures temperatures regularly plummet to at least 57 F (14 C).

Marawiâ€™s reputation as a dangerous town has stunted its tourism potential. A "zone of peace" is the local university, which at 1,000 hectares is virtually a city within a city, complete with a hotel.

Getting there: Head to Iligan by bus or jeepney from Cagayan de Oro. Marawi is a jeepney ride away, along the Amai Pakpak Avenue from Iligan.

Banaue is one of four towns in Ifugao province that make up the UNESCO-listed Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras.

While these visually stunning monuments of ancient engineering are widespread in Asia, those in Ifugao trump most in terms of altitude and steepness. The highest ones tower around 4,900 feet above sea level.

Lake Sebu spills into seven waterfalls -- two are connected by a high zipline.\

With its flotilla of lilies and schools of tilapia fish, Lake Sebu on the island of Mindanao is full of postcard-caliber beauty.

Even better, the namesake town feels good on the skin, with temperatures seldom warmer than 77 F (25 C).

Sebu and two other lakes in the town empty down into seven waterfalls, two of which are connected by a high zipline. Acrophobic tourists can settle for canoe rides with the Tâ€™boli, a tribe of weavers.

Weather-induced shivers are eased by their warm hospitality, if not their traditional cloth (tâ€™nalak) that's sold around town.

Getting there: Fly or sail to General Santos City, then take a bus to Koronadal. Ride another bus to Surallah, where vans and jeepneys can shuttle you to Lake Sebu.

Itbayat is the only low-altitude town on this list. But what it lacks in altitude it makes up for in latitude.

As the northernmost town in the Philippines, and thus the furthest from the equator, Itbayat experiences four seasons instead of two. It can out-winter Baguio between November and February, when temperatures crash down to 44 F (7 C).

Itbayat looks more like an English moor than a tropical island town. (English seafarers settled the area in the 17th century and called it Orange Isle.)

Ivatans, the native inhabitants of this frontier town, brave the cold winds with thermal garments called vakul and kanayi. Their houses are built with sturdy walls of coral bound by lime.